Some lawyers make me angry. You may ask “so, what else is new?” but the truth is that in 20 years of law practice, I have mainly dealt with solid professionals with professional attitudes.
Even in employment litigation, where the parties often want each other's blood, the attorneys realize that if they keep a good working relationship with opposing counsel and the court, the case will go better for everyone, and it will be easier to settle when the time is right.
The vast majority (more than 95% by some accounts) of employment and business cases settle before trial because very few cases are a slam dunk for either side, trials are risky and most people don't want to take the risk. Settlement for a reasonable amount is usually better than trying the case because the plaintiff may get nothing and the defendant may spend a lot of money and still lose the case.
Most of the time, the important question is: “What is this case worth?” After the parties and their attorneys have had a chance to conduct discovery, prepare motions and evaluate the evidence, they can predict, albeit very roughly, what a jury will do.
If the attorneys on both sides come up with similar numbers, or if one party is simply more wary of the risk, then the case is likely to settle. Most of the time, experienced attorneys agree on what the evidence will look like and where the risks are, and they are able to negotiate reasonable settlements.
Unfortunately, a small number of lawyers seem to take pleasure in being annoying, obnoxious or nasty, often at the expense of their own clients. For example, one lawyer warned me after a contentious deposition that not only was my client a liar, but I was risking court fines for filing a “frivolous” lawsuit.
He refused to discuss settlement, which at that time could have been had for around $20,000. A year later, after his client had paid him more than that in additional fees, the case settled for nearly twice that amount.
These lawyers seem to believe that if they make the case as unpleasant as possible, the other party will just go away rather than pursue his rights. I've never known this to work.
Most people who file a lawsuit truly believe they've been wronged and they're counting on the court to set things right. They are not going to give up just because an attorney literally adds insult to injury.
Being obnoxious to opposing counsel is never a good idea. It drives up costs by making more work and less cooperation for both sides.
Judges find it disrespectful to the court and some of the more egregious behavior violates lawyers' rules of ethics. The end result in the case will be based on what a judge or jury thinks of the parties and the evidence, not how obnoxious the lawyers have been to each other before trial.
But more importantly, life is too short to spend it constantly fighting with people. We live in a beautiful place where leisure time is highly valued. Our society spends considerable time and money trying to reduce stress. I'll bet there are more yoga studios than churches per square mile in San Diego.
Yet, for some, it's hard to find the “civil” in civil litigation. Maybe now, with cost being a big factor for everyone, people who get into legal battles will recognize that more is not necessarily better.
Even in employment litigation, where the parties often want each other's blood, the attorneys realize that if they keep a good working relationship with opposing counsel and the court, the case will go better for everyone, and it will be easier to settle when the time is right.
The vast majority (more than 95% by some accounts) of employment and business cases settle before trial because very few cases are a slam dunk for either side, trials are risky and most people don't want to take the risk. Settlement for a reasonable amount is usually better than trying the case because the plaintiff may get nothing and the defendant may spend a lot of money and still lose the case.
Most of the time, the important question is: “What is this case worth?” After the parties and their attorneys have had a chance to conduct discovery, prepare motions and evaluate the evidence, they can predict, albeit very roughly, what a jury will do.
If the attorneys on both sides come up with similar numbers, or if one party is simply more wary of the risk, then the case is likely to settle. Most of the time, experienced attorneys agree on what the evidence will look like and where the risks are, and they are able to negotiate reasonable settlements.
Unfortunately, a small number of lawyers seem to take pleasure in being annoying, obnoxious or nasty, often at the expense of their own clients. For example, one lawyer warned me after a contentious deposition that not only was my client a liar, but I was risking court fines for filing a “frivolous” lawsuit.
He refused to discuss settlement, which at that time could have been had for around $20,000. A year later, after his client had paid him more than that in additional fees, the case settled for nearly twice that amount.
These lawyers seem to believe that if they make the case as unpleasant as possible, the other party will just go away rather than pursue his rights. I've never known this to work.
Most people who file a lawsuit truly believe they've been wronged and they're counting on the court to set things right. They are not going to give up just because an attorney literally adds insult to injury.
Being obnoxious to opposing counsel is never a good idea. It drives up costs by making more work and less cooperation for both sides.
Judges find it disrespectful to the court and some of the more egregious behavior violates lawyers' rules of ethics. The end result in the case will be based on what a judge or jury thinks of the parties and the evidence, not how obnoxious the lawyers have been to each other before trial.
But more importantly, life is too short to spend it constantly fighting with people. We live in a beautiful place where leisure time is highly valued. Our society spends considerable time and money trying to reduce stress. I'll bet there are more yoga studios than churches per square mile in San Diego.
Yet, for some, it's hard to find the “civil” in civil litigation. Maybe now, with cost being a big factor for everyone, people who get into legal battles will recognize that more is not necessarily better.